Here's what I told [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION]!
| Addled | Mad, insane, or just stupid. An "addlepate" is a fool. |
| Aft | Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship. |
| Ahoy | Hello! |
| Avast! | Hey! Could also be used as "Stop that!" or "Who goes there?" |
| Begad! | By God! |
| Belay | Stop that. "Belay that talk!" would mean "Shut up!" |
| Bilge! | Nonsense, or foolish talk. The bilges of a ship are the lowest parts, inside the hull along the keel. They fill with stinking bilgewater—or just "bilge." |
| Bilge-sucking | A very uncomplimentary adjective. |
| Black Spot | To "place the Black Spot" on another pirate is to sentence him to death, to warn him he is marked for death, or sometimes just to accuse him of a serious crime before other pirates. |
| Blaggard | Blackguard. An insult. |
| Blimey! | An exclamation of surprise. |
| Booty | Loot. |
| Bosun | Boatswain, a petty officer. |
| Bucko | Familiar term. "Me bucko" = "my friend." |
| Cap'n | Short for "captain." |
| Cat o'nine tails | A whip with many lashes, used for flogging. "A taste of the cat" might refer to a full flogging, or just a single blow to "smarten up" a recalcitrant hand. |
| Chantey | A sailor's work song. Also spelled "shantey" or "shanty." |
| Corsair | A more romantic term for pirate. But still a pirate. |
| Davy Jones' locker | The bottom of the sea. |
| Deadlights | Eyes. "Use yer deadlights, matey!" |
| Dead men tell no tales | Standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors. |
| Dog | A mild insult, perhaps even a friendly one. |
| Doubloon | A Spanish gold coin. At different times, it was worth either 4 or 16 silver pesos, or "pieces of eight." |
| Fair winds! | Goodbye, good luck! |
| Feed the fish | What you do when you are thrown into the sea, dead or alive. |
| Gangway! | "Get out of my way!" |
| Godspeed! | Goodbye, good luck! |
| Grub | Food. |
| Fore, or forrard | Toward the front end of the ship. |
| Flogging | Punishment by caning, or by whipping with the cat. |
| Hands | The crew of a ship; sailors. |
| Handsomely | Quickly. "Handsomely now, men!" = "Hurry up!" |
| Jack Ketch | The hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang. |
| Jollyboat | A small but happy craft, perhaps even one which is a little dinghy. |
| Jolly Roger | The pirates' skull-and-crossbones flag. It was an invitation to surrender, with the implication that those who surrendered would be treated well. A red flag indicated "no quarter." |
| Keelhaul | Punishment by dragging under the ship, from one side to the other. The victim of a keelhauling would be half-drowned, or worse, and lacerated by the barnacles that grew beneath the ship. |
| Kiss the gunner's daughter | A punishment: to be bent over one of the ship's guns and flogged. |
| Lad, lass, lassie | A way to address someone younger than you. |
| Landlubber or just lubber | A non-sailor. |
| Lights | Lungs. A pirate might threaten to "have someone's lights and liver." |
| Line | A rope in use as part of the ship's rigging, or as a towing line. When a rope is just coiled up on deck, not yet being used for anything, it's all right to call it a rope. |
| Lookout | Someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for other ships or signs of land. |
| Maroon | A common punishment for violation of a pirate ship's articles, or offending her crew. The victim was left on a deserted coast (or, island) with few supplies. That way, no one could say that the unlucky pirate had actually been killed by his former brethren. |
| Me | A piratical way to say "my." |
| Me hearties | Typical way for a pirate leader to address his crew. |
| Matey | A piratical way to address someone in a cheerful, if not necessarily friendly, fashion. |
| No quarter! | Surrender will not be accepted. |
| Piece of eight | A Spanish silver coin worth one peso or 8 reales. It was sometimes literally cut into eight pieces, each worth one real. |
| Pillage | To raid, rob, and sack a target ashore. |
| Pirate | A seagoing robber and murderer. Contrast with privateer. |
| Poop deck | The highest deck at the aft end of a large ship. Smaller ships don't have a poop; the highest part aft is the quarterdeck. |
| Poxy, poxed | Diseased. Used as an insult. |
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| Rope's end | Another term for flogging. "Ye'll meet the rope's end for that, me bucko!" |
| Rum (noun) | Traditional pirate drink. |
| Rum (adjective) | Strange or odd. A "rum fellow" is a peculiar person, the sort who won't say "Arrrr!" on Talk Like A Pirate Day. |
| Sail ho! | "I see a ship!" The sail, of course, is the first part of a ship visible over the horizon. |
| Salt, old salt | An experienced seaman. |
| Scurvy | (1) A deficiency disease caused by lack of vitamin C, often afflicting sailors; (2) A derogatory adjective for an epithet, as in "Ye scurvy dogs!" |
| Sea dog | An experienced seaman. |
| Shanty | Another spelling for "chantey" - a sea song. |
| Shark bait | (1) Your foes, who are about to feed the fish (q.v.). (2) A worthless or lazy sailor; a lubber who is no use aboard ship. |
| Shiver me timbers! | An expression of surprise or strong emotion. |
| Sink me! | An expression of surprise. |
| Smartly | Quickly. "Smartly there, men!" = "Hurry up!" |
| Splice the mainbrace | To have a drink. Or, perhaps, several drinks. |
| Spyglass | A telescope. |
| Starboard | The right side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow. |
| Sutler | A merchant in port, selling what a ship needed for supplies and repairs. |
| Swab (noun) | A disrespectful term for a seaman. "Man that gun, ye cowardly swabs!" |
| Swab (verb) | To clean something. "Swabbing the decks" would be a mild penalty for a disobedient pirate. |
| Swag | Loot. |
| Wench | An individual of the female persuasion. "Saucy" is a good adjective to add to this, and if ye can get away with "Me proud beauty,” more power to ye! |
| Yo-ho-ho | A very piratical thing to say, whether it actually means anything or not. |
